More Federal Cages Planned for New Hampshire as 86% are Incarcerated for Victimless “Crimes”

New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said it prioritizes funding for two other vacant prisons besides Berlin. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives. The 1,280-bed, medium-security federal prison was completed last year but has yet to open because of a lack of operating funds from Congress.

Drug offenses are self-explanatory, but the public-order offenses also fall under the victimless crimes category. Public order offenses include such things as immigration, weapons charges, public drunkenness, selling lemonade without a license, etc..

The United States has the highest prison population rate in the world, 756 per 100,000 of the national population. The world population in 2008 is estimated at 6,750 million (United Nations); set against a world prison population of 9.8 million this produces a world prison population rate of 145 per 100,000 (158 per 100,000 if set against a world prison population of 10.65 million).

In 2008, according to the Department of Justice, there were 7,308,200 persons in the US corrections system, of whom 4,270,917 were on probation, 828,169 were on parole, 785,556 were in jails, and 1,518,559 were in state and federal prisons.

In other words, 1 in 42 Americans is under correctional supervision. This constitutes over 2% of the entire US population. That percentage jumps up drastically if we limit the comparison to working aged adult males, of which there are around 100 million. Over 5% of the adult male population is under some form of correctional supervision, alternatively stated, 1 in 20 adult males is under correctional supervision in the US. One in 36 adult Hispanic men is behind bars, based on Justice Department figures for 2006. One in 15 adult black men is, too, as is one in nine black men ages 20 to 34.

Keep in mind that 86% of those men in federal prisons are there for victimless crimes. They have not stolen any property, damaged any property, or harmed anyone directly by their actions. Of course, if you are reading this and live in the US, you are paying for all those people to subsist on a daily basis. Roughly 34% of all prisoners in the US are incarcerated for victimless crimes.

In California in 2009 it cost an average of $47,102 a year to incarcerate an inmate in state prison. In 2005 it cost an average of $23,876 dollars per state prisoner nationally.

SY

Its not about drugs.

Its about jobs, perks and pork for government workers, unions and contractors.

Want to stop it? Cut off the the spigot – tax revenue.

http://propagandalalaland.blogspot.com/ Julia

"Its about jobs, perks and pork for government workers, unions and contractors."

Well, we do live in a market system where we have to work for $$$ so we can eat.

You always act like the government is part of the market, Julia. The government steals money from the productive to fund the gov unions, employees, and contractors, money the victims may have spent in other ways to expand the economy and enhance their lives that instead is forced into bloated security theatre or inefficient 'municipal' services provided by overpaid, underincentivized workers.

I would love to abolish prisons altogether. How many have you closed up so far? I love your 'focus on alternatives' spiel. Truth is, as long as there is money to fund the jail, there will be one, and those who lust for power will run it largely to suit their own ends and those of their buddies.

On a more local level a jail costing nearly $40 million to construct is being built in Grafton County, New Hampshire. More tax theft for "the people" to forge the chains that bind them will ensue. This jail is being built "illegally", the history of the meetings and alleged "vote" to affirm its construction is very very tainted…So where is the legal recourse when all the branches of government collude to rob?

It's funny but all the pro government types fall silent when this supposedly "free country" and the fact that the United States incarcerates the most people of any other country facts come out..

Government as an institution is a failure and a fraud. It relies upon violence and "sells" you a "service" at the point of a gun. Those who deny this are not paying attention and cover themselves at night in a blanket woven from cognitive dissonace wool.

david-keene

im a pea shooter

http://capitalismsmash.blogspot.com/ SMASH CAPITALISM

Julia, gubmint unions are stupid. If you work for the gubmint, hope that theirs not a union for your job. Gubmint unions claim to represent your interests, and then make rules telling you what you can do in your off time. GUBMINT unions like IAFF, SIEU, CSEA, NYSUT, NEA (teachers unions) are useless and stupid

david-keene

like people say the "north country" is more poorer than down here …..and poorer people generally wind up in jail more…so I wonder if that has anything to do with stuff

david-keene

what kind of gun are u smash

david-keene

I think the gun kok would be is like this out of control blunderbuss

http://NHFREE.com Tom Sawyer

Thanks for your input Bob. I have heard some of the tale of the criminal conspiracy that happened to force the approval of Grafton's Prison Complex.

From what I know of it…

They didn't have enough votes on the committee to prevail. They called a private meet where the public was excluded (which is illegal) and brow beat till they got the vote they wanted. A citizen spent 10's of thousands in a lawsuit and the judge, who is a government employee, let it stand. So much for working within the system.

Meanwhile someones brother in law gets a multimillion dollar contract… Government at work

NH Native

I don't know what folks who talk about getting rid of all prisons are thinking … there will always be people too dangerous to allow in general society.

That said, there certainly are a lot of people in prison or jail who don't belong there.

http://capitalismsmash.blogspot.com/ SMASH CAPITALISM

"what kind of gun are u smash?"

I'm the same as KoK/test message- the Glock .22 40 cal

bil

If you put that little dot in front of the 22,it changes the meaning…… —bil

http://capitalismsmash.blogspot.com/ SMASH CAPITALISM

Made a mistake, too bad theres no way to edit your posts, im just used to seeing .22 or .223, but obviously theyre not the same thing as a 40 cal

Well, one of the easiest ways to get into Federal Prison, is to use a gun in the commission of a felony…

They aren't really "victimless crimes" at all, folks…

We are *ALL* the victims here…

theKINGofKEENE

I just took that "what kind of gun" test again…

…I answered the opposite of the "truth"…

THIS*TIME, I am a

"WALTHER PPK, in .380 auto"…

now, to try random answers…

theKINGofKEENE

WELL! ….*NOW* I'm a

HECKLER & KOCH, Model P7, in 9mm….

(If you want to know what kind of gun you are, you have to be HONEST, when you take the test, and answer the questions…)

talleytv

@NH Native

Hi. I don't recall anyone mentioning getting rid of all the prisons. We agree that there are far too many peaceful people in cages. If we released all 86% of them, if those numbers are correct, imagine the cost savings to taxpayers. I want them out because they haven't harmed anyone and aren't a threat to anyone. It's a discrace for the so-called "Live Free or Die" State to be building even more jails.

Lpviper

Prison has to change from being a place where victims pay involuntarily to cage their attackers to a place where wrongdoers work to pay restitution to their victims, and the operators have an interest not only in rehabilitating the wrongdoer, but in treating him well so he can be productive.

Of course there are always the extreme cases, the real psychopaths who can't even be kept in a general population of convicts. There are already mental hospitals and unassigned bullets for those folks, as the situation and/or circumstances dictate.

Saying we 'have to' keep some folks in cages because they can't mix in society is one thing. I don't disagree, some people are indeed very dangerous.

Thing is, why should I have to pay to imprison someone like this when I have done nothing wrong, certainly not up to the level of a man or woman who would 'need' such punishment? Why can't criminals be ordered by judges to pay restitution to their victims, and be housed at a jail chosen either by the victim or by committee, such committee to include the affected aggressor?

Somebody violent, who shoots a fellow, say, in the back, needs to be taken out of circulation for a bit at the very least.

We can do that without paying bureaucrats and judges and sheriffs to claim and exercise control over our peaceful choices.

We can do that in a way that keeps harmful people away from innocents, and also compensates those who have been attacked INSTEAD of giving free room and board to the person who hurt you AND paying a bloated salary to the men and women who make up rule after rule after rule and get more harmless people locked up for simply not behaving in the way that is written by them and voted on by the 'people.' (The majority of the minority that votes…)

In a nutshell, NH Native, my view is concurs fairly well with yours, we can't let the crazies just wander around and do whatever, but my vision of a system that separates the violent and dishonest from the rest of the populace is far different, I think. It would seem you want the government run prison-industrial complex to continue.

This actually is an understandable viewpoint when one considers that most folks only know of one way to take care of bad guys and the cops have been doing it since before they were born!!

We can do better, as individuals, as communities, as a race of beings. We can stop putting 'bad' people into cages with other 'bad' people, where they sit idly and learn methods of criminality from one another and come out ready to commit more crimes (whether there are victims or not is irrelevant to the moralizers), and instead let private companies provide the service of restraining dangerous criminals and recovering damages for their victims.

In a free market setting, where anyone who is inclined can open and run a 'correctional facility', competition would breed innovation, just as it does in every other endeavor, and operators would find ways to be as efficient as possible, as humane as possible, as effective in collecting damages for victims as possible, and determine whether their charges have paid off their victims' damages, plus maybe a little more for pain and suffering (it will be interesting to observe the way free market arbitrators decide to award damages to those who are harmed. I believe damages, etc. will be determined by reason, logic, and agreement rather than by an arbitrary rule that applies equally to all and has no regard for any specific situation, individual, or existing peaceable agreement between individuals.

Well, enough rambly rambly.

Be well all

Cheers

enslave keene

As long as they get filled with people who break laws I will gladly pay for this!

OCCUPY ME

Good idea there, Mr. "enslave keene"…

…if we just enact enough laws,

we can put ALL of us in jail for breaking something…

…good idea, Forest…

enslave keene

LOCK EMUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bob barker

Please explain to me in great detail how someone who is addicted to crack, heroin, meth, etc is still not going to rob, steal, kill, even if these drugs are legal! I completely disagree that you say drug dealers and users and victimless crimes. What about the families that have been completely torn apart due to these addictions and the actions of the abusers. Still No Victim? Get a fucking clue. Legal or illegal things things will all still occur. Go ahead David-Keene give me one of your inspirational responses.

bob barker

*are victimless crimes

david-keene

ok heres my "inspirational response"

for ONE .. people won't rob drug dealers and say to them selfs "the dealer won't call the cops because he is doing something illegal so I can rob him without worry of the cops and do whatever crime to him I want without worry"

Crime will decrease there BOB BARKER (i liked you better on the price is right)

As far as crime ,the families..ya…it will be the equivelant of the crimes and "families" etc etc …with drunks. And and with pot it will be a win all around as pot heads don't hurt people

done

david-keene

take your biased blinders off "bob barker" you slanderer of the real bob barker's name

david-keene

There did that satisfy your Inspirational needs bob barker

david-keene

Oh yea. DRUG TURF WARS would end ,BOB BARKER….you should get a education before you speak bob barker

theKINGofKEENE

neener, neener, neener, bob barker…, so there, you! Take that! and THAT! That, too! Take it, bob barker, take it!…you might be a cool ship, but I still like GOJIRA better…

david-keene

lol

bob barker

Normally drug users don't rob drug dealers. Most of the crimes are committed by users who steal from their families, rob true victims and burglarize businesses and homes. These things have happened right here in Keene NH. Most, if not all of the burglaries in the area have been committed by drug addicts who in turn trade their score for drugs in Fitchburg or wherever. So families of drunks are not victims? Hmm tell you what, why don't you let my drunk ass, useless, system sucking uncle live with you. I've lost more money, had more fights and dealt with more nonsense with him then you could ever understand David. For the record I have no issues with weed being legal or decriminalized. I just don't condone it being used in public just like I don't want to see people drinking in public parks.David your the one who needs the education. Go fuck yourself you ego manic!!

david-keene

I didnt say drunks didn't cause problems..I KNOW they do MORE THEN MOST…My point was if drugs were legal …the problems created by druggies would become the equivalent of what drunks do except for pot smokers.. and drug crime would drop HUGELY

david-keene

so ,you are wrong

enslave keene

The only drop in drug crime would be the buying and selling of drugs! That last post was a joke right?